Nichelle Nichols (African Diversity in Trek)

The main reason why Star Trek has held up for as long as it did is because we all want to believe that the human race makes it out of the current state we live in. With war, poverty, disease, greed and Trump in the foreground of our future, it's good to know that it's possible to live past this. Having the technology to travel through the stars, communicating with a dozen species and traveling with friends in space is something I couldn't imagine if it wasn't for Star Trek.

Many people find Star Trek to be boring, especially before J.J. Abrams took over with his view of the franchise. This is because it's not all about the action, suspense and war, but about family, friendship, togetherness and us living in a world together as one. Sure Trek has it's share of villains and action-the Borg are a perfect example-but what makes this franchise standout is what the goal of it's all about: exploring our galaxy together and beating poverty.

Not only is Star Trek the first show on television to really give us a utopian view of the future, but it's also a milestone starring a multi-ethic cast of actors. During the 1960s, the Cold War began and then of course Vietnam. People needed hope and looked to television to entertain them during this time of crisis, a lot like television does for us today during our current world struggles. Nichelle Nichols, an African actress with a talent for singing and acting, is perhaps the one lead in the cast to have faced the most problems in the role. 

Beautiful much? Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura

In the third season of the show, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) shares the first interracial kiss with Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and the only way for the sensor to allow this, was if the characters were under the influence of an alien power so as not to be solely out of love as this would infuriate the studio. According to the website Memory Alpha, the scene "was, at the behest of NBC executives worried that Southern affiliates might refuse to air the episode, filmed with and without the kiss, but Nichols and Shatner consciously sabotaged the non-kiss takes so that there would be no choice but to leave the kiss in the final version." So, it ended up in the episode and thus history was made in the future...if you get what I mean. Nichelle dealt with a ton of racism from the studio when she learned "studio executives were withholding her fantail" during the first seasons of the show. The fact that she had a major fanbase was unheard for an African-American in society. She was set to leave after the first season, but was convinced to stay afterwards when she was told that her role was "too important a cultural impact to leave." The person? Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. She pushed through it and left a lasting impression on many Africans to pursue a careers in acting, namely Whoopi Goldberg and LeVar Burton. 

Not only does Dr. King give her this ever-lasting advice, he also says to her that Star Trek "is the only show that [his] wife Coretta and I allow my children to watch-to stay up and watch." How awesome would it be if your hero, one who speaks up for you and demands equality, walks up to you telling you to continue playing a role that has left so many impressions on people?! In the video below, courtesy of the Archive of American Television, you can watch Nichelle's personal experience with Dr. King and how she is persuaded and convinced to stay on the show.

The benefit of making a science-fiction production, is that you can indirectly address issues currently affecting our society. As stated earlier, interracial marriages and relationships were looked down upon in the 1960s America. That is not to say that relationships did not exist, but it was simply not talked about. Let's not forget about segregation in America. With the experience Nichelle Nichols has, through the tough times and the bleak occurrences, she can now live with being one that so many look up to in entertainment. Brining it all back to Star Trek, creator Gene Roddenberry pushed the boundaries with what was accepted in television and stopped at nothing to ensure that not only Nichelle, but the entire cast got respect to the best of his ability. There are bumps along the way and of course even today as stated earlier we still have issues, but what started in the 60s pushed through and now we have a new Star Trek cast of diversity. Live long and Prosper! 

Nichelle taking a break between shoot

DO YOU THINK STAR TREK WAS A MAJOR IMPACT FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS ON TELEVISION? WOULD YOU HAVE STAYED ON THE SHOW DEALING WITH RACISM? COMMENT BELOW AND LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS! THANKS FOR READING!

Sources:

Quotes on Nichelle Nichols:
Memory Alpha 

Image of Uhura at her station:
Star Trek.com

Video Courtesy of
Archive of American Television

Uhura on bike courtesy of:
Huffington Post
Nichelle Nichols On Having First Major Black Female TV Role And That First Interracial Kiss On ‘Star Trek’

Star Trek: Discovery (The New Series)

I'm so glad that Star Trek is retuning to the small screen! With the announcement that the series head is one that previous wrote and produced epos des of Star Trek in the past-Bryan Fuller-it's safe to say that the Trek we've come to know and love is going to make a return with...

Star Trek has always been meant for the television screen. Don't get me wrong, I love the films with a passion, but in order to see characters grow, having them on weekly basis is the way to go. Plus you can focus on certain characters that two hours just wouldn't be able to cut. That's why the films by JJ Abrams don't have much space to breath in between each other. They are motion pictures, which come out ever four years or so. It's hard to capture the feel of the old school Trek if we only have so much time to watch them grow. Sure, you can take a look at the comics and novels showcasing their adventures between films, but it's not enough if you're just an average movie goer who doesn't follow the material or side stories between films.

As of today, August 11th, Bryan Fuller announced that Star Trek: Discovery will "bridge the gap between Enterprise and the original series." This means that the Prime universe will return. For those of you unfamiliar with what I'm referring to when I say "prime", I mean the universe of Trek that existed before J.J. Abrams' reinvention of the franchise. I'll get into my thoughts on JJ's interpretation in a moment, but now I want to discuss the new direction this show will go than any has before. First, it's going to "absolutely have a gay character" as stated by Fuller. Star Trek has never really been the focus on such diversity other than a small hint of it in the current film Star Trek Beyond where Sulu has a male lover. This is something fresh and new especially seeing that this franchise has been around for 50 years.

The new ship is unlike anything we've seen before and was met with mixed reactions. Upon seeing it, I was a bit surprised and underwhelmed as well, but I may grow to like it. Change isn't always a bad thing. Some say the same thing about these new films.

While I love the new films, they are not really what Star Trek has been about from the beginning. It's not about action, war and suspense. Sure, we have gotten more than a handful of that even before JJ, but it's also about the human condition; how we've managed to survive all these years into the future and have beaten disease, poverty and greed. Sure, we deal with different species in the show that still have the traits we have today, but they are not us as they are different beings (and we also need conflict for entertainment purposes), but you get what I'm trying to tell you. Friendship, family and togetherness and exploring the unknown is in the heart of Trek. This is what makes it so different from Star Wars, which I love to death as well. I feel this is going to return to what Trek is all about.

The new series is going to hit the airwaves with a 2-hour premiere on CBS and then head to CBS All Access for the remaining 12 episodes. Oddly enough, only outside of North America will the show be on Netflix. It seems the market doesn't feel they can really profit on people using their new app, and what with a high percentage of Star Trek fans are in the U.S. it appears they are banking on us to get their All Access program, but you can all read my rant on what I think about that in my previous blogs.

In conclusion, we should all stay optimistic and excited that Star Trek continues to remain relevant in our society no matter what form it's in. Live long and prosper!

ARE YOU EXCITED FOR THE NEW SERIES AS IT GETS CLOSER AND CLOSER TO RELEASE? WHAT DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT TAKING PLACE BEFORE KIRK AND SPOCK? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!




Sources:

Selected Quotes from:
-Star Trek: Discovery: 'Prime' Setting, Gay Character, Heavy Alien Presence and 11 More Spoilers 
About CBS Reboot

-Star Trek: Discovery logo
Memory Alpha

Video courtesy of 
moviemaniacsDE

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